


A Little Bit of Tender Mercy

by graytheglowinggay



Series: X-Men: My Self-Indulgent Gay Nonsense [8]
Category: Alpha Flight, X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Banter, Canon-Typical Violence, Dialogue Heavy, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Titles, Injury Recovery, Long-Term Relationship(s), M/M, Married Couple, Married Life, Mild Gore, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, Post-Battle, Superhero/Civilian Relationship, Title from a Mountain Goats Song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:53:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23824132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graytheglowinggay/pseuds/graytheglowinggay
Summary: "And I feel sure that my wounds will heal / and I will bloom here in my room / With a little water, / and a little bit of sunlight, / and a little bit of tender mercy, / tender mercy." -the Mountain Goats, Absolute Lithops EffectKyle Jinadu tends to his husband's many injuries. They talk about some things.
Relationships: Jean-Paul Beaubier/Kyle Jinadu
Series: X-Men: My Self-Indulgent Gay Nonsense [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1693336
Kudos: 11





	A Little Bit of Tender Mercy

Kyle was no stranger to his husband’s self-sacrificial behavior, both in and out of costume. He was always the first to rush into battle, and his suits bore the rips and tears to prove it. Though Northstar had a healing factor, it wasn’t as fast-acting as some. Most of his injuries would heal within a day, but until then, they would hurt. So Kyle got pretty good at playing nurse.

“You can’t keep throwing yourself into battle expecting everything to turn out perfectly!” Kyle said, peeling Jean-Paul’s bloody suit off his torso.

“My team needed me. I did what I had to do,” Jean-Paul replied, wincing slightly as some scabbing peeled off with the suit.

Kyle wetted each spot with a warm rag to make the removal process easier. “You have plenty of teammates who are more… durable than you are,” Kyle said. “They can take it.”

“But they do not have my reflexes or my reaction time.”

Kyle removed the last of Jean-Paul’s ruined suit. “One of these days you’re gonna get in over your head. And it won’t be the kind of stuff I can patch up.”

“Hasn’t happened to me yet,” Jean-Paul replied.

“That ‘yet’ doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence,” Kyle replied. “Stand up. I need to see where you’re hurt.”

Only his underwear remaining on his body, Jean-Paul stood up. Kyle looked him over. Certainly not the worst injuries his husband had ever come home with, but not exactly what he’d send off with just a band-aid and a kiss on the forehead. A kaleidoscope of bruising blooming over the left side of his torso, a nasty looking gash across his right pectoral, surface scraping across his back, swollen knuckles.

“Your hands normally don’t look this bad,” Kyle said, searching through his collection of first aid supplies for the bottle of disinfectant.

“He had an exoskeleton. Harder to punch through. Didn’t hold up forever, though,” Jean-Paul replied. He gave his husband a confident smile, but all Kyle could see was the pain in his eyes.

“You should really look into reinforcing your gloves,” Kyle said. He wetted a gauze pad with the disinfectant and started lightly dabbing it on Jean-Paul’s knuckles. Jean-Paul hissed in pain.

“Don’t need it.”

“Well, this time you clearly did,” Kyle took out a gauze roll and started wrapping up his husband’s hands.

“This time was an exception,” Jean-Paul quickly replied.

Kyle took out another gauze pad and moved to clean Jean-Paul’s back. “It’s not just the gloves. Your whole suit needs more protection. It seems like every damn time you get into a fight you come back with something ripped. Captain Kirk would be proud.”

“Any extra weight would just cause friction,” Jean-Paul said. “Besides, if there was more material, how would you be able to appreciate all this?” He gestured to his muscular physique.

“If losing out on your ass in spandex ensures that said ass comes back home to me in one piece, I’ll take the deal,” Kyle replied.

“Such restraint. I’m impressed,” Jean-Paul said. “If it weren’t for being able to admire this superhero body 24/7, why else would you marry me?”

“Your judgment and foresight, clearly,” Kyle said. After cleaning Jean-Paul’s back, he decided not to bandage it. It would be fully healed before they went to bed.

“You wound me!” Jean-Paul exclaimed. “I have excellent judgment.”

“When it comes to menswear, perhaps,” Kyle replied. “Everything else? Not so much.” Kyle dabbed at the cut across Jean-Paul’s pectoral. On a regular person, it would probably require sutures, but in this case, steri-strips would be enough. Kyle finished cleaning the area and began applying them.

“At least you acknowledge my fashion sense,” Jean-Paul said.

“In all seriousness, I need you to take better care of yourself,” Kyle said. “I worry about you.”

Jean-Paul rested his left hand on Kyle’s cheek. “I understand your worrying, darling, but things like these are part of my job. If I hang back because I’m afraid of getting hurt, bystanders will be hurt instead. Villains just want to cause hurt, no matter who it happens to. If a black eye or broken rib of mine can prevent a needless civilian death, then I will take whatever I must to defend those who cannot defend themselves.”

Kyle put his hand on top of Jean-Paul’s. “Why’d I have to fall in love with a man who’s so damn heroic?” His voice cracked slightly.

“It’s part of who I am,” Jean-Paul replied. “If I didn’t use these powers of mine to make the world better, what good would I be doing?”

“You’d still be making my world better,” Kyle said. A single tear glided down his cheek. Jean-Paul brushed it away. “I love you, Jean-Paul. I’m happy I married you.”

They gently kissed.

“Even when you disrespect the monthly uniform budget. This is the third one you’ve ruined this month,” Kyle said after they separated.

“How was I supposed to know we’d be fighting a mutant with corrosive touch?” Jean-Paul exclaimed.

“Maybe if you let me workshop more durable material choices as I suggested, you wouldn’t have ended up naked in the middle of Central Park!” Kyle replied. “You flew home with an XXL ‘I ♥ NYC’ shirt on and no pants. If you didn’t have super-speed you would’ve flashed half the city.”

“Those durable materials were incredibly unflattering! They did nothing for my quads,” Jean-Paul shot back.

Kyle put his hands up. “Fine, fine, clearly you know more than I do. Let’s just get you cleaned up and in bed.”

Jean-Paul flashed Kyle a quick smile, and Kyle knew why he had fallen in love with him.

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I will singlehandedly maintain the Jean-Paul/Kyle tag on this godforsaken website. You heathens better enjoy it.


End file.
